The Chronicle of the Horse The Chronicle of the Horse

At this point in the summer, we thought everyone could probably use a laugh, and so we’ve put together a collection of embarrassing and amusing stories from the equine world. We have funny stories from stars like Anky van Grunsven, Adrienne Sternlicht, Will Faudree, Lynn Symansky and Sandy Ferrell, as well as great tales from Chronicle fans.

With three World Equestrian Games and two Olympics under his belt, not to mention three gold medals from two Pan American Games, Boyd Martin hardly needs an introduction. This 40-year-old event rider from Cochranville, Pennsylvania, just scored back-to-back wins at the Virginia Horse Trials and the Horse Park of New Jersey Horse Trials II. 

When citizens of Oakland, California, witnessed Brianna Noble and her 7-year-old Appaloosa gelding Dapper Dan walking through the Black Lives Matter protest for George Floyd on May 29, they stopped in their tracks to take pictures and raise fists in solidarity.
This wasn’t Noble’s first protest, but it was the first time the lifelong equestrian attended one on horseback. When photos from the event went viral on the internet, the 25-year-old got conformation of the impact she was hoping to achieve, one that sparked the opportunity for dialogue and change. Noble became a public sensation overnight and is using her newfound platform to fight for equality in equestrian sport and beyond.Tori Repole guest hosts this interview with Noble where she discusses race in the horse world and Noble's non-profit, Humble. 

The horse world has been turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic and things are beginning to get back to normal, depending on the state and local governments. We thought we’d look at how one horse-centric state is handling re-entry after months of regulations.Ross Peddicord is the head of the Maryland Horse Industry Board, part of the Maryland Department of Agriculture. He’s also part of a task force set up to advise on when and how sports, including non-racing horse sports, should reopen in his state. Maryland has been hit fairly hard by the COVID-19 Pandemic, they’re 10th in the nation by number of cases, and as of today they’ve had over 44,000 cases and over 2,200 deaths. The Maryland Horse Industry Board, which licenses over 700 stables across the state, has been proactive about communicating what’s allowed when it comes to horses.

Dr. Karley Koch is an avid amateur equestrian and a second-year medical resident in the family medicine residency program at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City, which means she’s working in Oklahoma's largest hospital on a regular basis. She was also featured in the Chronicle’s “Amateur Showcase” online. She joined us to discuss what it's like on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Safety in eventing is always at the forefront of the minds of governing bodies and participants, but the discussion has been reignited in the wake of the death of Katharine Morel and her horse Kerry On at the Rocking Horse Winter 3 Horse Trials in Florida on Feb. 29.
Improving safety in eventing is a multi-faceted challenge, which includes finding ways to make cross-country jumps safer with frangible technology, examining cross-country course design, looking at horse and rider qualifications and discussing rider responsibility.
Katharine’s accident occurred at a table on the cross-country course at Rocking Horse, and in the aftermath, five-star rider Jonathan Holling decided to start a fundraiser with other stakeholders in the sport for frangible MIM tables. 
Amateur rider Maggie Deatrick was moved to write a blog for EventingNation.com, which went viral, asking for transparency from officials after accidents that result in the death of a horse or rider.